Mizzou understood

How the heartbreaking Missouri Tigers could make champions of the Florida Gators

November 19, 2008|By Dan Sweeney

This past Saturday, not long after the Florida Gators brutalized the most hilariously named team in the NCAA, the South Carolina Gamecocks under former Florida coach Steve Spurrier, in a 56-6 victory, I put in a call to an old friend of mine, a former sports journalist who now helps make odds for a sportsbook out of Costa Rica.

"Crushing," he said. "A lot of us thought the 22-point line on the game was a pretty good bet for South Carolina, and Florida beat 'em by twice that. I'm sure some dudes lost their shirts."

"Look," I responded, "the only question down here is whether Florida makes the big game. Florida State's dead in the water now that they lost to Boston College, and the 'Canes are on a nice streak, but it's not enough to matter."

"Well," he answered, "I guess a lot of that comes down to your boys in Missouri."

Jesus. As an alumnus of the University of Missouri, I have known little but heartbreak in the way of college football. This year is the first in my lifetime in which Missouri had a real chance to grab for the brass ring, but losses to Oklahoma State and Colt McCoy and his damned Longhorns quashed those dreams. But as my anonymous friend in the sporting industry made clear, Florida's trip to the big game could now rest on the broad shoulders of the Missouri Tigers. If nothing changes, then Alabama and Texas Tech will go to the national championship. One or both of these undefeated teams must be killed to clear the way for a Florida championship berth. (I asked about the possibility of other undefeated teams stepping into the breach, maybe Utah or Boise State, but my friend just laughed, called me Forrest Gump and pointed out last year's undefeated Hawaii team, which wound up ranked No. 10 in the BCS and then went on to the Sugar Bowl, where a 10-2 Georgia team slaughtered the Warriors, 41-10.)

Gator fans would do well to get behind the Tigers in the next couple of weeks. It goes without saying that Florida is in charge of its own fate: The SEC Championship game will pit Florida against No. 1 Alabama, in a must-win situation for both teams. But the Big 12 Championship will serve as a kind of insurance for the Gators. Assuming Texas Tech beats No. 5 Oklahoma this week, and naturally goes on to spank Baylor in the final game of the season, the Red Raiders will face Missouri in the championship game, which will be held at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, making it essentially a home game for Mizzou. If the Tigers can beat the Red Raiders, then the Bowl Championship Series won't have a single marquee undefeated team, and of all the one-loss teams, Florida will certainly wind up in the top two, especially after knocking off Alabama.

"But can it be done?" I asked.

"You mean can Mizzou beat TT?" he responded rhetorically. A long pause before he answered, "Sure. Hell, the Cornhuskers took TT to overtime earlier this year, and they haven't had a good team since the 20th century. They've got some good players, like that 300-pound Samoan dude [defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who is actually a native of Cameroon], but ... "

"What sort of odds do you put on this thing, ace? Can Mizzou do it?"

He shot another taunting laugh before saying, "I release no line before its time."

Whatever the Tigers may do for the Gators, it means nothing without a win this Saturday over Citadel, and then next Saturday over the Seminoles and, finally, the all-important SEC Championship game, which may be like, if you'll forgive the obvious metaphor, trying to turn back the Tide.

One eye on the Senate

On the political front, Democratic hopes of reaching a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate grew brighter this past weekend as Democratic Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich increased his lead over Republican incumbent and convicted felon Ted Stevens to 1,022 votes. About 25,000 votes remain to be counted, mostly in Begich's power base of Anchorage. A Begich win is good for all sides; it gets the Democrats another seat, and it allows the Republicans to avoid a messy vote to expel Stevens from the Senate. In fact, the only loser of this outcome may be Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who could have replaced Stevens in the Senate after his expulsion and a special election that she almost certainly would have won. (If Begich had this close an election against a convicted criminal, just imagine what the popular local girl would do to him.)